Caregivers today, a large part of the French tomorrow ... Protective masks are essential to deal with the epidemic of coronavirus. But despite orders from abroad and the efforts of numerous textile factories involved, the quantities available are not yet sufficient. This is the reason why individuals are mobilizing to try to produce it with the means at hand.
"Light and comfortable" masks
For Romeo, a pupil of Third in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the means on board look like a real small factory, with five 3D printers lined up in his room. To produce protective masks, the machines run continuously from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. "It is a kind of headband. Above, there is a transparent sheet which will clip on the headband, after that it makes a kind of visor", describes the schoolboy at the microphone of Europe 1.
At the rate of half an hour per visor, this young enthusiast of new technologies has already manufactured 400 for two weeks. They are all intended for nursing staff: "It is light, comfortable, much better than their foggy glasses", praises Romeo. "And that protects postilions and projections."
250 masks delivered to the nearby hospital
From the age of 14, Roméo finds himself at the head of a real production chain. All under the admiring eyes of her mother, Julie, who did not expect such a result when her son asked her for her first machine three years ago: "Clearly, the first reaction I had, it's 'but what are you going to do with it? What can it do to have this type of machine in an apartment?' Today she runs ten to twelve hours a day. "
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Romeo and his mother have already delivered 250 masks to the Peupliers hospital, a Parisian establishment close to their home. They plan to increase production to supply nursing homes, paramedics and blood donation establishments.